Page 20 of Controlled

Sinking deeper into the vivid memories, he saw her flat on her belly. Her legs were open wide, pussy dripping with his and Noratu’s cum. Draven parted her ass cheeks and positioned himself against her puckered hole. No one had ever possessed her there. He was the first to breach the opening, the first to feel her tight muscles stretch around his cock. She screamed with painful pleasure as he drove deeper. He’d sensed her fear but also her need to be dominated and the pleasure she found in being so roughly used. She was his mate, their mate. Of course, she would revel in surrender. He just hadn’t expected her to adapt this quickly. Her wild auburn hair spilled over her face and pooled on the bed as he claimed that tight virgin hole. She came over and over, her pleasure intensifying his.

“She submitted to everything we did.” Noratu pointed out. “Why do you expect her to rebel again?”

The question annoyed Draven, clearing his mind of the sensual images. Noratu had been handed every advantage in life: wealth, power, privilege. He had no concept of struggle, had never known true uncertainty. “She has just been ripped from the only life she has known and told that her mother and grandmother lied to her about everything. Her shock and vulnerability worked to our advantage. Once she has accepted her new situation, her spirit will resurface and the real training will begin.”

“You are the best controller I have ever mentored,” Azar told Draven. “If anyone can deal with her, it is you and Noratu.”

“I appreciate your confidence, sir.”

Each member of a power triad had learned their skills from someone who was older, yet similarly empowered. Conduits were mentored by other conduits and so on. It allowed the apprentices to benefiting from decades of experience. Before his retirement, Azar had been the most acclaimed controller at the Citadel. Then his conduit abandoned her triad and fled to another planet. Azar had been humiliated and discredited. The war had allowed him to rebuild his military career, but he had never participated in a power triad again.

Draven, who had been one of Azar’s many apprentices, had contacted Azar in private and asked that they continue his training. The board of governors at the Citadel had not been pleased, but they did not penalize Draven for remaining loyal to his mentor. They’d assigned him an official mentor, however, so Draven learned from two experienced controllers and his skills had been enhanced because of it.

Azar had rewarded Draven’s loyalty by designating him as Flora’s controller when he negotiated the final contract with Noratu’s parents. At first, the Skores balked at the choice. Draven was not elite and a close family friend wanted their son to participate in Noratu’s triad. Azar suggested the young males meet and that Noratu be allowed to decide which controller he preferred. Most controllers were cold and intensely autocratic. Draven could be surprisingly warm and engaging when he chose to be. Noratu liked Draven immediately and admitted that he desperately wanted to escape his parents’ authority, so Noratu talked his parents into accepting Draven as well as the contract for Flora. Noratu and Draven had been working together for the past ten years.

“I know her training will need to be accelerated,” Noratu nudged the conversation onward. It was awkward discussing the details of a female’s claiming with her father. “How long do we have before the shipyard is operational?”

“According to my contact, two or three months at the most,” Azar told them.

The Torretetians were building a massive manufacturing facility on the largest of the planet’s three moons. More precisely, the Pyronese had been hired by the Torretians to build the facility. Over ninety percent of Torret was covered in water, so building anything was a challenge. Their economy was simple. They harvested the bountiful minerals found on the ocean floor and used their wealth to buy anything they needed.

Pyron, on the other hand, had the opposite problem. Their planet was small and overcrowded so its natural resources were all but depleted. The Pyronese had a long history of manufacturing and millions of skilled laborers, so they quickly realized that their most profitable export was their work force.

“Are you sure you can trust your contact?” Draven asked. This conversation was important, but his mind was still on Flora. Her introduction to Altorian ways had been intense and rushed. He didn’t want to leave her alone for long. Once the endorphins left her system, she was likely to lash out.

“This particular contact consistently provides incredibly accurate information,” Azar insisted. “I consider anything he passes on actionable.”

Draven nodded. Azar’s contact had also reported that once the shipyard was up and running it would be highly mechanized and capable of producing a midsized warship in a matter of weeks. A fighter would take three or four days. It was an advantage that they could not allow their enemies to achieve. The Torretians had started this war, but the Altorians were doing everything they could to end it.

And soon they would have a weapon capable of obliterating the shipyard without risking any unintended damage. The moon was peppered with outposts and commercial complexes. A traditional explosion would likely result in collateral damage. It also risked knocking the moon out of its current orbit. Triads wielding Altorian Flame would destroy the shipyard while leaving everything around it unharmed. One of the benefits of magical weapons was the accuracy with which they could strike.

Part of Draven didn’t care if they made Torret uninhabitable. Emperor Jevara was a ruthless dictator who deserved everything he was about to get. But the Torretian people had no say in what their leader did. Shifting the moon, even to a minor degree, would have a devastating effect on Torret. Because of the planet’s unusual climate, its ecosystems were incredibly fragile.

“Have any of your spies spotted Emperor Jevara?” Noratu wanted to know. “I prefer to know where that bastard is at all times.”

“Dealing with civil unrest is nothing new for Jevara. His father was one of the least popular emperors in Torretian history and Jevara is even worse,” Azar commented. “Troops were dispatched to deal with the current rebellion. I don’t expect Jevara to emerge until the uprising blows itself out.”

“Is that likely to happen?” Draven pressed. “The new rebel leader is gaining popularity every day.”

“Popularity doesn’t mean much as long as Jevara controls the military,” Azar insisted.

“Maybe we should negotiate an alliance with the rebels.” Noratu shrugged. “Installing a new leader might be easier than fighting a war.”

“Regime changes are never as simple as they sound,” Draven cautioned.

Azar’s tone took on an impatient sharpness. “One of my first deployments was in support of a hostile takeover on Pyron. It took six years of bloody conflict, with heavy casualties on both sides, for the allied forces to install the new leader. Eight months later the entire planet had devolved into anarchy. In my opinion, if it doesn’t concern Altor directly, we should not be involved.”

Noratu nodded. “I understand your position, but many situations are not that well defined.”

Draven’s gaze shifted to his mentor. Azar might be retired, but he still did not appreciate being contradicted. Draven scrambled for a way to keep the argument from escalating, but Azar simply changed the subject.

“I’ve made arrangements for Iris to be detained at the Westbrook Security Complex,” Azar explained after a tense pause. “We need to keep her close and make damn sure she doesn’t leave the planet. Iris is our best hope of ensuring Flora’s continued cooperation.”

The casual statement caught Draven by surprise. Flora had been told that her grandmother would be released if she submitted to him and Noratu. Clearly, the general had no intention of keeping his promise. Fortunately for his newly bonded mate, Draven took vows very seriously. “Flora’s behavior is our problem now. We will make arrangements for her grandmother.”

Their gazes locked and Azar’s jaw clenched. “Iris cannot accompany you to the Citadel. I think it is unwise to leave her unattended.”

“We will send her to my estate,” Noratu decided. “It is fully staffed, so she can be watched continuously.”

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